AN: For a Tumblr prompt, Ten x Rose, Pirates AU and a secret relationship. Betaed by Veritascara.

"What do you mean, we're having a ball the night after next?"

Lady Rose Tyler looked from her father to her mother and back again, not bothering to hide her agitation. Her life had changed so much since her parents had been reunited three years previous. Jacqueline and Rose had been shipwrecked years ago and presumed dead. It had only been sheer chance that had led Lord Peter Tyler to the tavern on Powell Isle where Jackie and Rose worked tables. He'd recognised his wife immediately and reclaimed them as his family.

But Lord Tyler had been on his way to his new home as governor of the Kasterborous Constellation, as the western island chain was known. After some heated discussion between the elder Tylers, it had been agreed that Rose would be sent back to Gallifrey to go to finishing school, while Jackie went on with her husband.

"My Rose doesn't need any finishing," Jackie had insisted hotly. "She's worth more than ten of your society ladies."

"Of course she is, Jacks—she's ours, after all," Pete had said, running his hand down his wife's arm. "But there'll be enough talk about the two of you finally coming back from the dead. Do you want to give them any other reason to gossip about her?"

His argument swayed Jackie, and over Rose's protests, she'd been sent back to the Citadel to endure two years of school, two years of boring classes in how to comport herself as a lady of the realm. Every moment had chafed; she'd lived her own life in the Constellation, with no one directing her movements. At school, she had to fit a mould and answer to her instructors if she stepped out of bounds.

Each evening when the sun set, she'd marked another day off her calendar and anticipated finally being allowed to come home, allowed to be herself. So, to hear that the first order of business upon her arrival was a formal ball did not please her. "But I've only gotten here," she protested.

"You've just arrived, and that's why people want to meet you," Jackie said, and Rose recognised the fire in her eyes. There would be no arguing, even if the invitations had not already been sent out.

DWDWDWDWDW

An hour into the ball, Rose managed to dispatch her latest partner to the punch table during a break in the dancing and slip past the heavy curtains out onto the balcony. The fresh sea breeze was a welcome relief from the stuffy ballroom, filled with smoke from the candles and heavy colognes. Rose leaned on the balustrade and took a deep breath of the salty air. The sun had set nearly an hour before, but there was still light on the unending horizon, where the cerulean water blended into the deepening azure of the night sky. A few stars were already peeking out, and Rose's fingers itched for a paintbrush to capture the beauty.

"Well this is a bit awkward."

Rose spun toward the pleasant tenor voice, her hand flying automatically to her décolletage. A tall, slim man leaned against the wall, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his dark superfine coat. The flickering light from the wall sconces reflected in his warm brown eyes, and the wry humour she saw there eased what little concern she'd felt.

He pushed off the wall with one shoulder and took a step toward her. "I thought the balcony would be empty, but I find it occupied by someone else looking to avoid company. Now, a polite man would turn around and leave you alone, but I've always been a bit rude, so I wonder if we could share."

Rose found herself returned the stranger's disarming smile. "As long as you promise not to dance with me," she said pertly. "My feet can't take any more bruising."

His rich laughter rolled over her, warming her from the inside. "It seems we are both lacking in manners, Lady Rose. Are these colonials too rough for you?"

"Oh no," she said, eager to not be misunderstood. "It's more that they are far more interested in meeting a lady than I am in being a lady."

Before her new friend could reply to that, the curtains were shoved aside and Lady Tyler joined them. "Rose! Oh, there you are. What on earth possessed you to disappear like that? At least you've met Lord McCrimmon; he's one of the men I wanted you to dance with tonight."

Rose and Lord McCrimmon shared an amused look. "I'm afraid Lady Rose has already made me promise—"

"To dance the two next with me," Rose interrupted, knowing what her mother's reaction would be if she knew what she'd really said.

Lady Tyler looked at the two of them, her brows knit together. "You'd better dance with her," she said, tapping her fan against Lord McCrimmon's chest. "Don't think I haven't noticed you two out here alone and unchaperoned. If Pete hadn't promised me you were a gentleman, I'd have something to say about that."

Lord McCrimmon raised his eyebrows and offered an arm to Rose. "It seems our next half hour is set for us, Lady Rose. I believe the musicians are returning to their places; shall we?"

Rose took his arm with a demure smile. "Of course, my lord."

He led her to the top of the dance, as befitted her status. They danced the first figure together in polite silence, but finally Lord McCrimmon spoke. "Have I offended you in some way, Lady Rose?"

"Were you trying to avoid meeting me earlier?"

He winced. "Ah. It does look like that, doesn't it? I promise, I didn't know your mother had chosen me as your next partner. I just needed an escape from the idle prattle, and took the break in dancing as my chance."

Rose relaxed a little. "I can understand that desire, my lord."

"James, please," he said, his fingers accidentally brushing against her wrist as they passed each other on the floor. "From your earlier words, I believe you are as tired of the forms of courtesy as I am." The intense look in his eyes stole the breath from Rose's lungs, so she simply nodded. "Thank you. And may I call you Rose?"

"You may."

Lord McCrimmon—James, Rose corrected—smiled so broadly the corners of his eyes crinkled up. "Thank you. My neighbours would say I spend too much time with the lower classes, but whatever the reason, I can't be comfortable if I hide behind my title." He grimaced. "Which is just one more thing to dislike about these formal affairs."

Rose twirled around him, letting her skirts fan out to brush against his legs. "One more thing? That implies there are other things you find unpleasant about nights like tonight."

He raised his left shoulder in an elegant shrug. "Where's the fun in sitting around with a bunch of people who are more concerned with their own reputations than with actually doing anything of value?"

Something tugged at Rose, and she met James' gaze steadily, instead of keeping her eyes focused just over his shoulder as she had been taught. "Are you sure you're a nobleman, James?" she teased. "I'm certain the High Council would cast you out if they heard such a scandalous opinion. Why, reputation is everything! Or have you not heard, the sheer rumour of our greatness will be enough to end the war."

Fire glinted in James' eyes. "I have lived in the Constellation long enough to know the High Council knows nothing about what is actually happening in the Skarosian Wars," he said, and the rough note in his voice sent a shiver up Rose's spine. "If we are to win, it will be because good men, like your father, have chosen to stand up and fight."

The music crescendoed and then faded away, and the applause of those watching the dance pulled Rose and James from the world they had fallen into. A flush warmed Rose's cheeks, and she thought she saw a hint of red on the tips of James' ears.

"I hope my bold words did not offend you, Rose," he said quietly as he led her back to her mother.

"On the contrary," she said. "I told you I was tired of being treated like a lady. I want to be a part of what goes on here, not kept as some glass doll, too beautiful to be affected by the world."

James lifted her hand to his lips. "As I said earlier, Lady Rose, I am always ill at ease at these events. But dancing with you, talking with you tonight… this has made it bearable."

"Better with two?" Rose said softly, the brush of his lips and hint of promise in his eyes sending a flutter of excitement through her.

"Yes, it is."

The words tumbled from Rose's mouth even though she knew her teachers would be aghast at her boldness. "Perhaps we might reach an agreement, Lord McCrimmon?" she said, aware as he was that where others could hear, titles were necessary. "Maybe we might attend these… together?"

"As my lady wills," he said, and with a wink and a bow, he disappeared into the crowd.

DWDWDWDWDW

In his room several hours later, James' thoughts lingered on Rose as he stripped off his coat and laid it over the back of a chair. He had nearly refused the invitation from Lord Tyler, but his first mate had reminded him that if he didn't take part in society, his whole attempt at a disguise would work fall apart.

He grinned as he loosened his cravat and pulled the long piece of silk from around his neck. "An extra ration of rum for Jack the next time I see him," he said, dropping the cloth and untying his shirt. Lady Rose was nothing he would have expected of a lady, but everything he should have expected of this lady in particular, based on the few times he'd met her parents.

The tan breeches and white knee socks were peeled off and dropped unceremoniously on the floor. Dressed in only his drawers, James padded over to the wardrobe and pulled out the tight black trousers and black shirt he wore aboard ship.

Once he was dressed for the second part of his evening, James pulled the hidden lever that revealed the staircase behind his bed. As always, the air in the stairwell was damp with sea water, and by the time he reached the landing, a fine mist had dampened his shirt. He pushed his wet hair back, grabbed the mask that hung on a peg by the cave entrance, and tied it securely over his eyes before stepping out into the moonlight.

The water called to James, but Jack would not be back with the Tardis for a fortnight yet. This was perhaps the most crucial point of the disguise. If James disappeared from society every time the Tardis was seen in action, even the Gallifreyan Navy would be able to piece the truth together.

All of Jack's logic couldn't keep James from going into town most nights, dressed in his pirate disguise—and given the number of times his late night wanderings had garnered important intelligence, Jack didn't argue too loudly.

James had walked the path from his hidden cove up to the town enough times to do so blindfolded. Tonight, with the full moon shining down, he was surefooted and fast—so fast, in fact, that he almost didn't see the figure coming toward him.

He paused and slipped into the shadow of the rocks, watching a woman descend the cliffs. There was something familiar about the way she moved… then the moonlight caught her burnished blonde hair, and he cursed under his breath. What is Lady Rose doing on the beach at 2:00 in the morning?

When she was just even with his hiding spot, he stepped out of the shadows. "Good evening, Lady Rose," he said, carefully modulating his voice from his own cultured accent to the working class tones he used in his second life. "Someone should have told you the beach is dangerous after dark."

Rose froze for a moment, then turned slowly toward him. James drew in a quick breath. If she'd been lovely in her ballroom finery, she was stunning dressed in a simple frock, with her hair hanging loose about her face.

"I allowed others to dictate my every move for the last two years because I had no choice," she said, her voice soft and even. "But I promised myself that when I returned home, I would not let my movements be curtailed."

"Not even by the knowledge that pirates that sail these waters?"

She tilted her head back and laughed. "You think too highly of yourself if you think you can scare me. I lived on Powell Isle for most of my life, or didn't you know?"

James brushed over her intuitive awareness of his own profession. "The Constellation has changed since you left, Lady Rose. There are some who would not hesitate to kidnap a lady of your standing."

Rose bit her lip. "My father did warn me of one brigand… the Master?"

Years of pent-up anger boiled up inside James. "Koschei," he spat out. "Believe me when I say you would do well to never meet with him."

She looked up the beach toward her mansion high on the clifftop, then back at the water. "But still, I do not intend to let anyone frighten me away from my walks. These evenings are the only time I truly have to myself."

Her jaw was set, and despite being frustrated by her disregard for her own safety, James couldn't help but admire her courage. The answer came to him before he realised he was speaking. "If I cannot persuade you to stay indoors after dark, then I will just have to walk with you."

Rose smiled at him, her tongue peeking out of the corner of her mouth. "And does my dashing marauder have a name?"

"The Doctor, at your service."